The Peculiar Illustrations of Ishihara Gōjin

Japanese illustrator Ishihara Gōjin takes you on a mysterious journey with his child book illustrations of various supernatural creatures… creatures that are rooted in Japanese myth and which appeared in the 1972 book Illustrated Book of Japanese Monsters. They can also be called rather homoerotic, stimulating a world of emotions and evoking almost trancelike fantasies… Gojin’s triggering imagery almost endues a lucid dream, where the dreamer knows he is dreaming… Here’s a selection of Gojin’s illustration, enjoy! – One Small Seed

I think this is my favourite. A strange and traditional looking piece.

Pretty disturbing… but also amusing stuff! Tiger-skin pants have never been so scary.

I love that man-plant-monster-thing! You wouldn’t mess with it, but it looks kind of friendly too… Excellent stripes.

Otherwise known as ‘Gekko Hayashi,’ Gojin’s paintings and illustrations range from kids superhero and sci-fi books to horrific yokai to homoeroticism. I have a few books of his, and there sure is a damn strange quality to his art, even the most vanilla of subjects done for the mainstream… His girls are often mannish and his male figures are, well… often not so mannish. His macabre stuff is just astounding. – Vintage Ninja

His monochrome pages are so finely drawn that you sometimes have to remind yourself that they actually are done in black and white. The accuracy and sense of speed in the fight scenes, the startling layouts, and the expert way the graphics get the characters’ psychology across – all of these achievements look as fresh on the page as the day they were printed. – Comi Press